Page 45 of The Vampire and the Case of the Hellacious Hag

‘There’s been plenty of commentary on that.’

‘You going to head over to mine later?’ I asked hopefully.

‘Sorry, Bunny, I’d better stay and supervise the interviews. We have a whole military operation going on here.’

I shuddered. ‘Ugh, don’t say that. It reminds me of the MIB.’

‘Not all MIB are evil.’

‘No, not all of them,’ I conceded. ‘Just a subset that are intent on kidnapping and destroying us and every other supernat on the planet.’

In my mind’s eye, I could almost see Connor’s shrug. ‘There are bigots in every walk of life determined to destroy anything different from themselves.’

‘Yes, but how do you defeat them?’ I felt deflated. ‘At times it feels like bigotry is everywhere. I mean those MIB guys were even on Sitka.’

‘It’s not prevalent, it’s just that those types of people shout the loudest. Most people in this world want to live and let live. You start small, focus on your community. You educate, you raise awareness and, if you can, you keep standing up for what is right.’

‘How did you get to be so wise?’ I teased.

‘I’ve lived through some interesting times,’ he admitted.

‘“May you live in interesting times” is actually a curse, isn’t it?’

‘It certainly feels like it at times, but afterwards you know that those challenges we face actually define us and make us stronger than ever. Dark times just mean that the light is coming. And it always comes, as sure as the sun.’

‘The miners are having dark times,’ I said. ‘And the hag certainly is. Someone is targeting her through the mine. Does she have any natural enemies besides air elementals?’

‘Not asfar as I know. She keeps herself to herself. I’ve only ever seen her once, and that was from a distance.’

I gave Connor a brief rundown of Liv’s information, albeit I wasn’t confident that it was a hundred percent true. Before he could reply, I heard John in the background saying, ‘The next interviewee is ready in room five.’

Connor sighed. ‘I have to go. We’re trying to get through as many as we can by this evening, prioritising the interviews around the miners’ shifts.’

I closed my eyes. He was working around the clock to get this done for me, and he was already behind on his own work because he’d visited me at Sitka. ‘I love you.’ The words spilled directly from my heart.

‘And I you, Bunny Barrington. Sleep well, Doe. Dream of me.’

We hung up and I sulked over a fresh cup of tea. The shower had finished long ago but I didn’t want to intrude. I was just setting the cup down when Fluffy padded out of the bathroom looking clean and shiny. I tried to keep the disappointment off my face but Fluffy’s low whimper made me realise I had failed.

‘It’s okay,’ I said softly. ‘It’ll take time. And that’s okay. I’m just… I’m here for you, okay?’

He jumped up next to me, laid his heavy head on my lap and looked up at me with doleful eyes. I stroked his head gently and let the movement soothe me, too.

He’d be okay one day. He had to be.

Chapter 27

I had fallen asleep on the sofa cuddled up with Fluffy when the blare of my phone jolted me awake. For a moment, I was utterly disorientated. Even with the shutters down, it was clearly daylight outside. I reached blearily for the phone and checked the time. I’d had four hours of sleep. Ugh.

It was the office. ‘Sorry to wake you,’ Sidnee said apologetically. ‘But I could do with Fluffy’s nose. There’s been another murder.’

The last vestiges of sleep were wiped from me in an instant. ‘Another murder? At the mine?’ I asked.

‘Where else?’ She sighed. ‘I’ll pick you and Fluffy up in ten. We can let Gunnar sleep a little longer while we deal with it.’

‘All right. See you soon.’

I fed the animals and ran around like a mad woman chucking on clothes. I brushed my hair and teeth and we were just about ready when Sidnee motored up in the Nomo SUV. ‘You’ll have tostay here,’ I said to Shadow. He hissed at me. I ignored him and put Fluffy’s Nomo vest on him.

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